Tuesday 5 July 2011
Monday 27 June 2011
Fever Nova
Fevernova rocks
This is my second review on choosing a soccer ball.
So, why not read my first one once you have read my review on the Adidas Fevernova Soccer Ball.
Epinions.com has not listed this ball in the Adidas section of soccer balls, so I came to the next closest thing.
Anyway, the FIFA World Cup 2002 in Korea/Japan has ended and what a great world cup it has been.
The Adidas Fevernova, the official ball of the 2002 World Cup recieved a great deal of criticism during the time of the World Cup due to its size and lightness.
If you watch some of the highlights of the World Cup you shall see some star players blasting the ball at goal and the ball ends up flying over the crossbar and into the stands somewhere.
FIFA & Adidas journalists interviewed players, asking questions about the ball and most of them replied by saying that it is too easy to kick and it is big but light etc.
To tell you the truth, personally, I love this ball.
My friend has this ball and I have tried it out.
I am going to buy it.
Yes, it did seem that the ratio and circumference of the sphere was quite large and the weight is light.
But it is crisply and should I say " dangerously " accurate and durable.
Technology has risen in soccer today,
Take a look...
1930's to 1950's :
These balls were made from a heavy and hard brown leather with a firm bladder and non- water proof outer skin.
These soccer balls were heavy and undurable.
1960's to 1970's :
These balls were made from cow-hide and technology rised a lot.
These were classic, supple balls that introduced the black & white hexagonal texture system which became a fashion.
1980's to 1990's :
These balls were mainly polyurethane and more technological.
They played better and were more water-resistent.
And now, The Adidas Fevernova has bought light to the modern world of soccer.
Read below to find out more information on The Adidas Fevernova.
The Adidas Fevernova Soccer Ball has a nicely spherical shape.
Its circumferencic ratio is 27 inches which is legal to FIFA law and the ball is 3mm thick.
The ball's weight is 15 oz.
The Fevernova's outer layer is coated with ADIDAS SKIN TECHNOLOGY featuring transparent PU coating providing an excellent feel for the ball and improvement in distribution.
It also has an Underglass iriodine print as one of the main tech fibers located around the ball.
The good thing about this ball is that Adidas have cleverly used a combination of special manmade fibers and elements to create a technological 10 layer ball.
One of the main embedded layers of the ball is the syntactic foam made from millions of gas-filled microballoons which provides not only 10% more accuracy and power in the shot but a better durability.
It embarks a precise flight path and when kicked it easily rebounds back into shape.
The foam is neatly placed underneath the polyurethane shell of the ball but covers the bladder.
The stitching of the ball was hand-stitched in Germany using many woven elastic procedures to create a durable and fast ball.
The bladder of the ball is a natural PU paneled injected latex which features a type of ADIDAS RASCHELS MESH which prevents deformity when kicked.
The accuracy of the Adidas Fevernova when kicked is 100% right.
So if a mis-kick occurs, you can only blame you'rself.
David Beckham and Pablo Aimar reccomend this ball to anyone.
The others are not so sure.
But I love this ball!
It is extremely well cushioned due to the syntactic foam and because of this, it prevents pain when struck with the instep of the foot.
Because of the lightness, the ball could levitate more than usual.
But you can still kick powerful and faster drives with The Fevernova.
According to Gunther Pfau of Adidas' soccer laboratory in Scheinfeld, Germany; "The Adidas Fevernova is new in soccer technology, it is fast and produces an accurate trajectory".
Players including Hakan Suker of Turkey believe; "This ball is somewhat like a balloon and it flies too easily."
Mickael Silvestre of France says " Everyone hates this ball."
Jeff Agoos of U.S.A. says "This is the lightest ball I have ever played with and its got alot of 'spring' to it"
To be fair to Adidas, not every player has been critical to The Fevernova Ball. David Beckham, Englands top player, and perhaps the biggest star in world soccer, has said of the ball, "The power and accuracy are exceptional!"
Of cource, David Beckham is sponsored by Adidas and was involved in designing the ball.
Pablo Aimar of Argentina also gave some delightful marks, saying, "This football (soccerball) is obviously the best you can get and it improves everything in you'r style of play. It is accurate and a pleasure to play with".
The cost is the only CON I can think of about The Fevernova.
You can get this ball at all good sports stores at around $160.00. It obviously costs that much because its the official ball of The World Cup 2002.
Replicas ( which arn't much different to the real thing, except they have lower tech ) are around $30-$40.
So make you'r decision.
If you are really serious about you'r soccer, I reccomend buying The actual Fevernova ball.
But if you don't want to spend that much money but still want to own a Fevernova ball, you should buy the replica ball.
The texture and pattern of the Adidas Fevernova is one of the most pretty, yet "cool" I have ever seen in a soccer ball.
The Fevernova is somewhat drenched in a creamy gold.
Followed by the shape of a Ninja Shuriken printed in the center representing the ancient warriors of Japan and their past cultures.
The champagne gold represents all of the effort put into the World Cup; and The Devil Firestreams of red represent the energy and atmosphere of Korea/Japan of a driving force.
I hope you enjoyed reading my review on Choosing A Soccer Ball.
Which in this case is The Adidas Fevernova Soccer Ball: The Official Ball Of The 2002 World Cup In Korea/Japan.
Saturday 25 June 2011
Tuesday 21 June 2011
We are currently 11 games into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and already criticism is mounting in regard to the “Jabulani” ball manufactured by Adidas and introduced to this World Cup as a partial tribute to the South African culture. Many goalkeepers have described the ball as “horrible”, “similar to a ball that you buy in a supermarket”, and “a bad invention” and comments made by outfield players and coaches may lead us to believe that FIFA has once more laid another egg for purely financial gain.
It is not unusual for World Cup tournaments to be christened with a new type of ball. The Fevernova and the Teamgeist were both used at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups respectively. It is part and parcel of FIFA’s way of creating a revenue stream to fund it’s worldwide efforts. They allow Adidas to produce and market a totally new style of ball, and Adidas then pay a huge fee for the rights to do that. But as is the case with all of these types of arrangements, particularly where FIFA are involved, the well-being of the sport is given a seat at the very back of the theater. However, the notion that this particular ball is brand new to this World Cup is totally wrong. The Jabulani has been used elsewhere, in particular, at the 2009 FIFA World Club Cup, the 2010 African Cup of Nations, and the 2010 Argentinian Clausura. The ball was even utilized in the German Bundesliga this season and is the ball of choice in the 2010 MLS League in the USA.
I have some personal experience of handling a new tournament ball which goes back to Euro 2004 when the Roteiro was the official choice of UEFA. Two of my sons played club soccer at the time so I bought one as a Christmas present. It is, without a doubt, the worst ball I have ever kicked. I’ve played with all types through my life and this thing was like trying to kick a soft stone. Simply horrible.
What is it about the Jabulani then that is causing so much consternation ? Stories abound that the ball doesn’t fly straight and moves around during flight which turns goalkeepers into nervous wrecks. Other complaints focus on the fact that it bounces too high and rolls too fast. Probably all legitimate issues but there are other forces at work here. Many of the games are being played at altitude which causes the ball, any ball for that matter, to fly further. Some of the stadiums have pitches which are “hybrid” in nature which is where artificial grass is interwoven with natural turf to create a truer surface. However, I’m a fan of “seeing is believing” and personally, I think that this ball is having a negative effect on how this tournament is being played.
First of all, forget the goalkeeping mistakes. There have been 3-4 “howlers” up to this point which might be more than you’d like to see but none of them have been ball related. Each mistake has been the result of poor goalkeeping and it’s not unusual to see that group blaming the ball for their own misfortunes. What I have seen though, is a lack of accuracy from long range shots. The ball seems to veer off and climb when it leaves the foot. Also, when passes are played out to the wings, if there is just a little too much weight on the pass, it speeds off out of play. If allowed to bounce, players are becoming disinterested in even chasing it, choosing to just let it skip across the line.
The ball striking of some of the free kick takers has been poor also, and that I attribute to the Jabulani. The most visible proof that I have seen however is the effect on a player’s control and touch. The basis of a top team’s success is the ability to maintain possession and move the ball forward, but it looks as if many teams are struggling to do that.
It will be interesting to see how Brazil and Spain fare in their opening matches but if this trend continues, you can guarantee that complaints will start to rain down on Sepp and the Boys from Geneva.
It is not unusual for World Cup tournaments to be christened with a new type of ball. The Fevernova and the Teamgeist were both used at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups respectively. It is part and parcel of FIFA’s way of creating a revenue stream to fund it’s worldwide efforts. They allow Adidas to produce and market a totally new style of ball, and Adidas then pay a huge fee for the rights to do that. But as is the case with all of these types of arrangements, particularly where FIFA are involved, the well-being of the sport is given a seat at the very back of the theater. However, the notion that this particular ball is brand new to this World Cup is totally wrong. The Jabulani has been used elsewhere, in particular, at the 2009 FIFA World Club Cup, the 2010 African Cup of Nations, and the 2010 Argentinian Clausura. The ball was even utilized in the German Bundesliga this season and is the ball of choice in the 2010 MLS League in the USA.
I have some personal experience of handling a new tournament ball which goes back to Euro 2004 when the Roteiro was the official choice of UEFA. Two of my sons played club soccer at the time so I bought one as a Christmas present. It is, without a doubt, the worst ball I have ever kicked. I’ve played with all types through my life and this thing was like trying to kick a soft stone. Simply horrible.
What is it about the Jabulani then that is causing so much consternation ? Stories abound that the ball doesn’t fly straight and moves around during flight which turns goalkeepers into nervous wrecks. Other complaints focus on the fact that it bounces too high and rolls too fast. Probably all legitimate issues but there are other forces at work here. Many of the games are being played at altitude which causes the ball, any ball for that matter, to fly further. Some of the stadiums have pitches which are “hybrid” in nature which is where artificial grass is interwoven with natural turf to create a truer surface. However, I’m a fan of “seeing is believing” and personally, I think that this ball is having a negative effect on how this tournament is being played.
First of all, forget the goalkeeping mistakes. There have been 3-4 “howlers” up to this point which might be more than you’d like to see but none of them have been ball related. Each mistake has been the result of poor goalkeeping and it’s not unusual to see that group blaming the ball for their own misfortunes. What I have seen though, is a lack of accuracy from long range shots. The ball seems to veer off and climb when it leaves the foot. Also, when passes are played out to the wings, if there is just a little too much weight on the pass, it speeds off out of play. If allowed to bounce, players are becoming disinterested in even chasing it, choosing to just let it skip across the line.
The ball striking of some of the free kick takers has been poor also, and that I attribute to the Jabulani. The most visible proof that I have seen however is the effect on a player’s control and touch. The basis of a top team’s success is the ability to maintain possession and move the ball forward, but it looks as if many teams are struggling to do that.
It will be interesting to see how Brazil and Spain fare in their opening matches but if this trend continues, you can guarantee that complaints will start to rain down on Sepp and the Boys from Geneva.
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